Khama, Guma clash over venue for NEC meeting

NEC to postpone elective congress NEC wants to allow for reconciliation of warring factions NEC retreat to mend broken relations

Botswana Patriotic Front ( BPF) is this week expected to officially communicate the postponement of its muchanticipated elective congress which was billed for next week, Botswana Guardian has learnt.

Sources have revealed that the party’s National Executive Committee ( NEC) has since decided to bow down to pressure to allow for heads to cool off amid tensions within the party. The NEC was scheduled to hold its meeting Thursday this week where a decision to postpone the congress was to top the agenda.

BPF which was officially launched in August 2019 was to have its elective congress at Tati Siding from the 28th to 30th October 2022.

In a twist of events, the party patron, former president Ian Khama is said to have called for the NEC meeting to be held in South Africa where he resides following his self- imposed exile last year. According to an audio leaked to the media, presidential candidate Samson Moyo Guma has rubbished the suggestion to have the NEC meeting held in South Africa.

In the audio Guma warns that the Acting President Caroline Lesang who chairs the meetings should not dare have the meeting held in South Africa at the instruction of Khama. The standoff between Khama and Guma escalated in the past few months after it emerged that Guma has the upper hand over the Khamas regarding the control of the party.

BPF Secretary General Tshekedi Khama has been at loggerheads with Guma ever since Guma was co- opted into the NEC. The Patron Ian Khama has since declared his support for Moiseraela Goya for the presidency of the BPF.

BPF Publicity Secretary Lawrence Ookeditse could not be drawn into discussing the matter. He stated that any development will be communicated after the NEC has met this week and have resolutions taken on any matter affecting the party including the elective congress.

News reaching Botswana Guardian is that the NEC will consider all the concerns that have been presented by various structures of the party. Some of the issues which have been raised were the suspension of some of the party members, and that the NEC must call a meeting of all regions rather urgently to consider raised issues and apply their minds to a way forward that would actually unite the party.

The BPF is torn between those who support suspended President Biggie Butale, Patron former President Ian Khama and Presidential candidate Samson Guma who is currently serving as the Secretary for Economic Affairs.

It has emerged that a reconciliation attempt by Khama failed this week after the NEC indicated that such can only happen after the Thursday meeting. This is said to not have sat well with Khama who argued that reconciliation is urgent, and should precede any NEC meeting due to the urgency of the matter as there could be no prospects for any successful NEC meeting without unity.

Following the standoff on reconciliation on Tuesday this week, some concerned members of the party have now established a Patriots Action Group ( PAG) which they say will save the party from the self- centred NEC members. The PAG is expected to be represented by its Action Committee which is made up of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Vice Secretary and three members.

The NEC has been accused of inconsistency. There was condemnation of what some within the party said were misguided factional and publicity- driven suspensions recently made by NEC. It has been argued that the suspensions are groundless, a blatant abuse of serious constitutional provisions and a mockery of the organisation. The NEC has also been accused of having no interest to unite the party.

There have been calls for the NEC to postpone the elective congress and have the party hold a conference where differences are resolved.

There has been a protracted power struggle within the BPF NEC ahead of the congress which recently resulted in a legal suit which barred suspended President Biggie Butale from declaring himself the substantive party president.